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My body pressed against his firmly. My knife plunged into a walker's skull. There was a whole herd, threatening to separate us. I gripped my last throwing knife tightly, throwing it into a walker's skull.
"Rori, do not break formation!" Will yelled but it was too late. I jumped forward and ripped two of my knives out of walkers. I quickly ran backwards so my back was pressed against Will's. He held my hand with one of his own. "You've got to go!"
"I'm not leaving you!" I shouted over the gurgling of walkers.
"One of us has to make it out alive," Will said. I gripped a walker's shoulder and plunged a knife into its skull.
"Yeah, and it'll be you!"
"No, Rori. Your parents could still be out there. Mine aren't. Rori, go. Find love and forget about me," Will said. His voice didn't hold fear like mine. Instead, it held confidence.
"I'm staying here and helping. I don't care if I end up dead," I argued firmly. At this point I was numb. I had been numb since two days after the prison. That was almost a week and a half ago.
"Ror bear, I know you are upset but you should eat something," Will told me, shoving some beef jerky in my face. I moved my head away from the food, my eyes staring at the embers of our fire. Will let you a small sigh. "Come on. For me."
"I don't gotta do shit for you," I snapped. Will wasn't expecting it and a shocked look spread across his face. "Sorry."
"Don't apologize. You're going through a rough time," Will said.
"It feels like I'll never get over his death," I whispered, my voice cracking. I didn't cry. No, I was far past that point. Will set down the beef jerky and laid down next to me. He pulled me down with him. The ground was hard and cold but it was all we had.
"I know. But you will. Things will get better. Even if it doesn't seem like it now," Will said. I went to say something but broke out into a coughing fit. I sat up and cover my mouth. Will sat up and patted my back.
"Better?" Will asked once I stopped coughing.
"Much better," I nodded, laying back down. Will wrapped his arm around me protectively.
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"Is the fire out?" I asked Will as we got ready to leave the forest. Will had found a small farmhouse not too far away from here.
"Yes. Are you sure you want to go to the farmhouse?" Will asked. He was concerned it would feel too much like Grandpa's farm.
"Don't really have a choice," I shrugged.
"There's always a choice," Will said, grabbing the only water bottle we had left. I looked at him blankly. He gave me a smile that I didn't return.
"Let's go. I'll be fine," I said. I began walking ahead of him. The sun was high in the sky, beaming down on us. I think it was beginning to become fall because the air was slightly chilly but it didn't feel like winter yet.
"You should talk about it sometime," Will said.
"About what?" I asked, stepping over a broken tree branch.
"The prison. The farm. Anything that bothers you," Will replied.
"I don't want to," I said.
"You should. Otherwise, you let it build up. You act like it's okay until you snap. I would know," Will said.
"Just because we were friends when we were little doesn't mean you know me, Will. We were apart for four years," I said rudely. At this point, I didn't care how rude I was. I just wanted him to shut up.
"Right, sorry," Will said. He lowered his head. It didn't say anything but he looked like a sad puppy dog.
"Is that it?" I asked, pointing at what looked like a farmhouse.
"Yeah," Will nodded. I didn't say anything, just continued walking. I didn't feel like talking. I didn't feel like living, either.
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"Did you find anything?" Will asked, coming down the farmhouse steps.
"A few water bottles, a jar of peanut butter, crackers, protein bars, and rotten cheese," I said, showing him the moldy cheese. His nose wrinkled in disgust.
"Let's not eat that," Will suggested.
"Agreed," I nodded and set the pack of cheese on the counter.
"I blocked the doors with some chairs. If any walkers try to get in, we'll know," Will said.
"Good," I nodded. The room returned to silence. Neither of us knew what to say.
"Do..do you think your family is still alive? And Carl? Rick?" Will asked. He bent down and began looking through some cabinets.
"I don't know. Their strong and can survive on their own. If they made it out of the prison," I shrugged.
"When they made it out of the prison," Will corrected.
"What?" I asked, setting a can of beans in our small pile of food.
"When they made it out of the prison. I'm sure they did. You said it yourself, they're strong," Will said. His voice held hope while mine held nothing.
"Rori, we don't have time to argue. You have to go!" Will yelled. He pulled out his gun and began firing at the walkers. "There's a small neighborhood just through the woods. Go straight and don't look back. I'll follow you."
"Promise me you'll follow," I called over my shoulder. Will seemed to hesitate.
"I promise," he eventually said.
"Okay," I said and ran forward. As I ran past walkers I ripped my knives out of their heads. Will shot down a few walkers near me. I pushed past many walkers but none seemed to follow me. If they tried to, they received a bullet through their head. As a walker came to close, I pulled out a spare knife. I did a little trick with it before stabbing the walker in the head. I ran straight through the woods as Will had said. He was right. There was a neighborhood just past the forest. I pulled out my knife when I saw a figure in the distance. "Hey, stupid walker!" I screamed. The figure stopped moving completely.
"Who says I'm a walker?" The so-called "walker" called over their shoulder. Wait. I recognize that voice.
"Carl," I gasped, rushing forward.
"Aurora," Carl let out a sigh of relief, running towards me. We met each other halfway. What surprised me the most was when Carl slammed his lips against mine.
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